Whoopie Pies, a.k.a. Gobs, are made from two chocolaty cake-like cookies, filled with fluffy frosting. They're sweet, freeze well, and are difficult to pass up. Supposedly they originated among the Amish, who had extra cake batter and frosting to use. Whoopie Pies are well-known throughout the Pennsylvania Dutch region and in New England. You can even order them on the Internet from Maine. True Americana!

These delicious treats are, in a word, nostalgic. I grew up knowing them as Gobs. My mom made them in the summer in preparation for family get-togethers at a lake in Minnesota. She would lovingly bake and frost the Gobs, wrap each in plastic wrap, and fill a few ice cream pails with them. Kept in the freezer until travel time, they were barely thawed when we reached the cabin. My siblings, cousins, and I would eagerly scoop them up and gobble them down. The whole lot was usually gone in about 30 minutes. Hours of work . . . gone in 30 minutes. But, oh!, how we loved them, and the memories live on. Thanks, Mom!

How to make Whoopie Pies

Bake the cake-like cookies, whip up the frosting, put them together and you have Whoopie Pies. Wrap each in plastic wrap and store in the freezer, unless they are eaten first!